Now that things are slowing down and our business budgets are tighter than ever, most small business owners are struggling to make ends meet. We still need to keep stock, maintain a social media presence, and market our wares. Even those of us whose wares are our services, rather than physical products are being affected.
Trimming the fat is necessary, but what you trim out of your budget needs to be carefully considered. For example, while you may have used a virtual assistant to keep you in the social media limelight, with this tightening you may have had to cut this service out of your budget. I certainly hope that if you did that you are keeping it up yourself. If not, I can assure you that you need to rehire and rethink.
Some things can be done away with, but a good virtual assistant is worth their weight in gold.
Jodie Burdette, the owner of TheOSP puts it this way, "It takes a lot to maintain your business and your brand's visibility. After all keeping your name out there is how you advertise your products or services AND attract clients. You have a blog to maintain, newsletters to write, a social media presence to maintain and more. On top of that you have your current clients needs to take care, marketing to attract new clients and you need to work on creating new products and launching each one. If you try to take care of all of this yourself your business is going to suffer and you are going to burn yourself out.
A good VA can take care of much of this and in way less time than you would spend trying to do it yourself. Plus, an experienced VA has seen it all (good and bad) and can offer suggestions to improve your products, unique ways to market them, put you in touch with potential joint venture partners you didn't even know existed and more. A quality VA is not just an assistant she (or he) truly is a partner in your business and is invested in your success. Making you look good, makes your VA look good."
Now let's look at other ways to make your budget while marketing your business. During your time socializing I am pretty sure you've met other business owners in compatible or even the same field. These entrepreneurs are most likely in the same predicament as you. Why not consider working together? You can even hold a seminar, tape it, and sell the replay and transcripts. Talk to other business owners and get started right away.
These are a couple of marketing ideas, but I also have a suggestion, or rather a comment to make. Price it right and reap the rewards. No matter how good your product or service is if you don't price it right you are only hurting yourself. Over pricing is just as detrimental as under pricing.
When setting your prices, consider not only the time and costs, but also software and education. If you are fresh out of college or a twenty year veteran in your industry just going solo, your rates should reflect that experience. Yes, be consistent with your industry, but establish a fair price within the industry norms. Cut-rate products and services are often thought of as inferior. So don't under value yourself or your products if you want to be successful. And, don't be afraid to raise your prices as you gain knowledge and experience. Sure you may lose a client or customer along the way, but that is bound to happen regardless.
So as you continue to seek ways to reweave those fraying financial cords, consider carefully the lessons and insights shared. Remember, action left undone reaps no reward.
� Copyright 2012 Ginger Marks Ginger Marks is the founder of the DocUmeant Family of Companies, We Make YOU Look GOOD! For more information, visit http://www.documeantdesigns.com/. Her 2011 annual edition of Holiday Marketing Guide, Your business-marketing calendar of ideas is now available at http://www.HolidayMarketingGuide.com. |